Saturday on the Couch: remembering surfing in the sixties

If you think Surfing in the Sixties will be a nostalgic book by four of the more notable photographers of those times with lots of memories and grainy photos, you’d be pretty close to the mark.

I should fess up here that I was a freelance journalist for Surfabout magazine, one of whose pictures is actually used for the front cover. I was also employed by Scott Dillon, surfboard manufacturer and retailer for a time, thus it is that I have some inside knowledge on the scene.

This weighty book is more about photography than text, though there is enough writing to whet your appetite. It describes life as it was then, including one memorable moment being the first World Surfing Title held at Manly in front of a crowd of 50,000 to 65,000 (depending on whose version you read). 

Other things are notably absent, like the Bobby Brown Memorial Contest I judged at. Though Bobby gets one mention, his tragic death at the end of a schooner glass two months shy of his 21st birthday and the subsequent contest are missing.

The surrounds of surfboard riding are covered, like the surf lifesaving clubs, the wahines, the board manufacturers (especially Bob McTavish who inspired many that came after him), the music and the vehicles we used to travel in (oh dear, am I really that old?).

Few would recall that, along with the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, there was a demonstration sport at Torquay where a team of American surfers gave an exhibition that inspired many Australians.

Another overlooked factor these days is that it was a lifestyle that was also a major attractant. I recall camping by beaches and having a surf all to yourself at many breaks where these days you have to pay to stay and then paddle out through the crowds. Going back to places like Noosa and Currumbin almost breaks your heart. Tribalism evolved with crowds and thus the freedoms once enjoyed sometimes became the exact opposite and turned ugly on occasions.

Bob Cooper, a successful manufacturer and retailer who came to Oz from California, has, for me, the most memorable quote, “One of the original attractions with surfing was the voyage of self-discovery that it involved. It was worth it and you knew it at the time that it was worth it. Those people who shunned your because you never wore shoes, never shaved and had second-hand clothes and an old car with no stereo … it was okay because they had what they wanted and you had what you wanted. That was fine with me.”

The most dramatic change that occurred in this era was the emergence of the short board, an evolution thoroughly documented here. It also commenced a revolution on the way riding waves was perceived as people with imagination ran with the idea, both in manufacture and in riding styles.

The book graphically illustrates a time that doesn’t exist anymore and never will. With over 500 photos it covers the whole spectrum and is in hard cover so it would make an ideal coffee table book gift for those that are interested.

Surfing in the Sixties by Mal Sutherland, John Pennings, Barrie Sutherland & Bob Weeks is available now from Dymocks. Click here to learn more.